Aquascape/flow question; fish swimming on one side

homegrownherbis · Nov 15, 2019

Hey R2R fam!

I'm still fairly new to the hobby and am finally getting the hang of most things. Currently reading a lot about dosing and corals. But this question is regarding my aquascape/flow. Sorry for the blue picture but that is my current aquascape.

My return pump is blowing from the upper right side and I have a Jebao OW-25 on the upper left and it's currently blowing on W2 setting diagonally towards the front of the tank. It seems like there's pretty good flow in the tank...however, it also "seems" my fish don't particularly like it. I have 2 clowns and a blue tang (all are back from QT and ich free) but they only seem to swim on the left hand corner under the wavemaker. They swim there for HOURS until I come home and feed them. I have a live webcam on them so I check in every hour or so and they never swim out. Is the flow too high? Should I point it in a different direction?

And yes, my bubble tip has unfortunately decided to set up shop in the BACK of my tank. What a great purchase.

Flippers4pups · Nov 15, 2019

Try turning the flow down considerably for a short time and see if they swim normally.

Jason mack · Nov 15, 2019

Flow in a tank is difficult because every scape is different.. I have a 90g and have 3 wavenakers ...2 on pulse ..1 constant ....ideally changing flow is important ...and we try to imitate currents ...so its basically trial and error ....but generally try to get flow at the bottom of the tank so aim 1 down ...and play around till you have no dead spots ...maybe add a 3 rd pomp just a small one behind rocks or so....as for your fish swimming in the corner ..I think they just need time too adjust too the new tank ...( solong they are not swimming always towards the flow constantly as that can be a sign of ich ..)
You need moderate flow in the tank unless your tank is full of sps which favors more flow ...